


Without A Smile

by wickedg



Series: Chasing Watermelons [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: rarepair_shorts, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-13
Updated: 2012-09-13
Packaged: 2017-11-14 03:51:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedg/pseuds/wickedg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Behind closed doors, the couple were not as they normally appear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without A Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: without a smile

It’s not that people look to the couple, tilt their head to the side and ponder on the absurdity of the relationship. No, the couple in question makes sense if you think about it. Kate Bell (or Katie, to her friends) and Percy Weasley are the epitome of identical opposites. They were both tall, slim to the point of skinny, and carried themselves with pride (though very often Percy could be found slouched over, reading a document or book).  
  
But the similarities seemed to end there.   
  
Katie was almost never found without a smile dancing on her face, while a much sterner, concentrated look almost never left Percy’s. Being a Quidditch player, Katie was seen to be much more active, fun-loving and graceful, while Percy remained quietly behind his desk, his dedicated quill scratching away into the long night.   
  
Behind closed doors however, when the fans and colleagues had finally gone home, their roles became almost reversed. Percy, relieved to be home and at rest, would relax into a laid-back, almost excitable persona rarely seen. Katie, on the other hand, would turn into his calm and quieter opposite.   
  
This would remain behind closed doors, the couple’s public persona taking over with force whenever they went out.   
  
Which is why it was such a surprise when fellow patrons at The Leaky Cauldron observed the couple in such a personal moment. To see Kate Bell and Percy Weasley having lunch at The Leaky Cauldron wasn’t too much of an event-in fact, local Kate Bell fans had become fairly relaxed about it, and condemned those from out of town who took to mobbing the Quidditch Idol. People were used to seeing Kate Bell being a vibrant, colourful character next to her quiet partner.   
  
What people were not used to seeing, however, was Kate Bell saying something solemn to Percy Weasley, Weasley jumping out of his chair in excitement, and laying a kiss with such passion on her that witches watching swooned softly.  
  


* * *

  
Percy was ecstatic. Not long after starting a relationship with Katie, he had said, song in his heart, those three words to her. She had apologetically said she wasn’t ready to reply in kind, but he wasn’t deterred. Percy had never been so sure of anything in his life, and if Katie needed a little more time, then so be it.   
  
So it was out of his carefully crafted appearance that Percy broke out of his skin and suddenly wanted to shout from the rooftops, to let all the other customers at The Leaky Cauldron know that his future children would be named for those who had witnessed this moment.   
  


* * *

  
She had said it. It had taken a while, but Katie wanted it to go Just Right. She had practiced in front of the mirror, but it always seemed so...insincere. After talking to her mum about it, Katie had decided upon a time and place. Later that evening, over dinner she would carefully prepare (i.e. heat up with her wand), and it would be a beautiful, private moment. Just the two of them.   
  
Instead, she found herself looking at her boyfriend over his fish and chips and pumpkin juice, his blue eyes dancing behind his glasses whenever they met hers.   
  
Judging by his reaction, Katie figured she had said it Just Right, indeed. What she didn’t realise is that what really spurred such a reaction from her normally docile boyfriend was how she had said it without a smile.


End file.
